"Do you not divine my malady? Have you not discovered the cause of my suffering?"
The vicar made a gesture of denial, and looked at Pepita with something like terror in his gaze; for he knew nothing of all that had taken place, and was struck by the vehemence with which she spoke.
Pepita continued:
"I ought not to have sent for you, father. I should have gone to the church myself instead, to speak with you in the confessional, and there confess my sins. But, unhappily, far from repenting of them my heart has hardened itself in wickedness. I have neither the courage nor the desire to speak to the confessor, but only to the friend."
"What are you saying about sins and hardness of heart? Have you taken leave of your senses? What sins can you have committed, you who are so good?"
"No, father, I am not good. I have been deceiving you; I have been deceiving myself; I have tried to deceive God."
"Come, come, calm yourself; speak with moderation and common sense, and don't talk foolishly."
"And how shall I avoid talking foolishly when the spirit of evil possesses me?"
"Holy Virgin! Don't talk nonsense, child; the demons most to be feared that take possession of the soul are three, and none of them, I am certain, can have dared to enter into yours. One is Leviathan, or the spirit of Pride; the other is Mammon, or the spirit of Avarice; and the other is Asmodeus or the spirit of Unholy Love."
"Well, I am the victim of all three; all three hold dominion over me."